School District Honors Partners, Volunteers of the Year

The Cherokee County School District continued a new tradition of recognizing and celebrating its top school partners and volunteers with the second annual CCSD Partner of the Year and Volunteer of the Year Recognition Ceremony.

The ceremony, held on Tuesday, March 17 at Cherokee High School, recognized a Partner of the Year and a Volunteer of the Year for each individual school and center. The ceremony also included the surprise announcement of the CCSD Partner of the Year and Volunteer of the Year selected from that pool of candidates.

Enercon Corporation, the Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy Partner of the Year, was named the CCSD 2015 Partner of the Year, and Amber Pirrello, the Johnston Elementary School Volunteer of the Year, was named the CCSD 2015 Volunteer of the Year.

“These honorees are exceptional and dedicated partners and volunteers, who inspire other partners and volunteers and have earned their respect and admiration,” Deputy Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Hightower told the crowd of 75 honorees and their guests. “For the last 16 years, the school district has seen the level of support of our partners and volunteer grow to extraordinary levels… which has made all the difference as we’ve grappled with State funding cuts while continuing our strong support of innovation in the classroom and District-wide initiatives to enhance academics.”

Tuesday’s recognition ceremony was sponsored by the Cherokee County Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 to raise funds and awareness for CCSD. Following the ceremony, which included tributes and the presentation of plaques to all honorees, a reception was held in the auditorium lobby.

The honorees were joined at the event by their families, principals of the schools that they support and other special guests. Refreshments were prepared by CCSD Food Services and the Cherokee High School Family and Consumer Sciences Department.

After the surprise announcements were made, excerpts were read from the nomination letters submitted by the principals of the schools that they support.

“Enercon went over and above as a partner by inviting teacher representatives of our leadership team and myself to their headquarters to meet with a team of scientists and engineers from their company to design real-life, authentic lessons just for our elementary-aged students,” Clark Creek ES STEM Academy Principal Dr. Jennifer Scrivner said in her nomination letter for Enercon. “This company shares the Clark Creek and CCSD vision of fostering an innate curiosity and joy of discovery by empowering young students to be STEM-focused problem-solvers at an early age. They invited us to come to them and then rolled up their sleeves to come alongside our teachers to help prepare the workers of the future. We are so grateful and awed by this partnership and appreciate the Enercon Corporation’s commitment to public schools.”

Johnston Elementary School Principal Kathleen Chandler in her nomination of Pirrello, praised her willingness to serve in many capacities and to take on new challenges.

“As a PTA newcomer committee member, Mrs. Pirrello collaborated with other parents to create Johnston’s first Kindergarten Orientation for parents of new kindergarteners and their students,” Chandler said in the nomination. “This specialized orientation allowed for the new students and their parents to get acquainted with the building before open house so they could feel more at ease to start the school year. It was exhilarating to witness such a well-planned event come to fruition… this program would not have been possible without the leadership, organization and commitment from Mrs. Pirrello. She raises her hand whenever and wherever a need arises. Most importantly, Mrs. Pirrello is a positive parent supporter of our school. She has a servant’s heart and strives to help teachers and staff at Johnston provide a superior elementary education experience for all students. She exemplifies in every way what a Volunteer of the Year should be.”

A page on the school district’s website honors school-level and district winners; photos and tributes for all of the winners from this year’s recognition ceremony will be posted and archived.

2014-15 Partners of the Year

Arnold Mill ES: Walmart - Woodstock

Ball Ground ES STEM Academy: Heritage Plumbing

Bascomb ES: Walmart - Bells Ferry Road

Boston ES: Chick-fil-A of Towne Lake

Canton ES STEM Academy: Rotary Club of Canton

Carmel ES: Walmart - Bells Ferry Road

Cherokee HS: Seasonal Designs Landscaping

Clark Creek ES STEM Academy: Enercon Corporation

Clayton ES: Amicalola EMC

Creekland MS: Northside Hospital-Cherokee

Creekview HS: Chick-fil-A Canton

Dean Rusk MS: The Premier Group - Keller Williams

E.T. Booth MS: Inalfa Roof Systems

Etowah HS: The Premier Group - Keller Williams

Free Home ES: Trotter & Patel

Freedom MS: Waffle House

Hasty ES Fine Arts Academy: Service League of Cherokee County

Hickory Flat ES: Domino’s/Bojangles

Holly Springs ES STEM Academy: North Metro Waste

Indian Knoll ES: Burger King of Canton

Johnston ES: Modern Woodmen of America

Knox ES: Menchie’s

Liberty ES: Publix at BridgeMill

Little River ES: Stevi B’s - Woodstock

Macedonia ES: Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant

Mill Creek MS: Just Driver Training

Mountain Road ES: Chick-fil-A Dwarf House

Oak Grove ES Fine Arts Academy: Hillcrest Baptist Church

Ralph Bunche Center: Laurel Canyon Optimist Club

R.M. Moore ES: Townsend Pipeline Construction

River Ridge HS: SignGig

Sequoyah HS: Bedoe’s Bar and Grille

Sixes ES: Chick-fil-A at The Outlet Shoppes of Atlanta

Teasley MS: Oak Leaf Church

Tippens Education Center: North Canton Baptist Church

Woodstock ES: Park Green Homes

Woodstock HS: Woodstock Fire Department

2014-15 Volunteers of the Year

Arnold Mill ES: Amy Hickman

Avery ES: Rebecca Warren

Ball Ground ES STEM Academy: Joan Hillhouse

Bascomb ES: Karen Griffin

Boston ES: Susan Honea

Canton ES STEM Academy: Sandra Brown

Carmel ES: Rodney and Pamela Allen

Cherokee HS: Dale and Kimberly Alexander

Clark Creek ES STEM Academy: Donnie Hamby

Clayton ES: Christy Worsham

Creekland MS: Jean and Jack Russell

Creekview HS: Phil Peppers

Dean Rusk MS: Cindy Brown

E.T. Booth MS: Mindy Rochon

Etowah HS: Cathy Wallner

Free Home ES: Erin Thomas

Freedom MS: Dale Alexander

Hasty ES Fine Arts Academy: Faith Castagner

Hickory Flat ES: Kelly Sandt

Holly Springs ES STEM Academy: Sharon McLurd

Indian Knoll ES: Beverly Ledbetter

Johnston ES: Amber Pirrello

Knox ES: Michael McGuire II

Liberty ES: Theresa Spears

Little River ES: Brenda Page

Macedonia ES: Tara Nalley

Mill Creek MS: Nancy Woodward

Mountain Road ES: Monica Orrico

Oak Grove ES Fine Arts Academy: Christy Good

Ralph Bunche Center: Marcelle Robustelli Strong

R.M. Moore ES: Randy Baratka

River Ridge HS: Debbie Rabjohn

Sequoyah HS: Laurie Wengert

Sixes ES: Katherine Cobb

Teasley MS: Neda Chester

Woodstock ES: Paul Hutto

Woodstock HS: Michael Tank

Woodstock MS: North Georgia Knitting Guild

Photo 1: Kent Milliken, a project controls engineer with Enercon Corporation, Cherokee County School District’s 2015 Partner of the Year, left, is congratulated by Deputy Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower, second from left, at the second annual CCSD Partner of the Year and Volunteer of the Year Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at Cherokee High School. Enercon became eligible for the CCSD recognition by being named the Clark Creek Elementary School STEM Academy Partner of the Year. Joining Mr. Milliken onstage for the recognition are Enercon Lead Mechanical Engineer Stacey Fredenberg, president of the Atlanta Chapter of Women In Nuclear (WIN), and Mr. Milliken’s son, Daniel, a third-grader at Clark Creek ES STEM Academy.

Photo 2: Dr. Hightower congratulates Amber Pirrello, the Johnston Elementary School Volunteer of the Year, who was named the CCSD 2015 Volunteer of the Year.

Credits: Cherokee County School District